On the minimal model for the low frequency wobbling instability of friction discs

An analytical and numerical study of the wobbling dynamics of friction disks is presented. Of particular interest is the excitation mechanism taking into account two contrarian effects both originating in dry friction: the circulatory terms describing the energy input due to the sliding contacts and the friction induced damping which stabilizes the system. Balance of these terms determines the instability domain in the parameter space. It is shown that there is a slip threshold so that, if the slip is under this limit, the system remains stable. If the slip is larger than this limit, then the criterion of stability is determined by the relation between the friction coefficient and the internal damping. The limit cycle appearing in the unstable domain is also investigated. It is shown that the limit cycle can be described as a kind of a regular reverse precession of the wobbling disc. Its amplitude is limited by the geometric nonlinearity and partial contact loss. Analytic results are compared with numeric simulations.